dog bites at the crag

drockschick

Trad climber
The Dirty South

Jan 18, 2011 - 06:53am PT
First off, Samantha, it sucks that you got bitten. That's the bottom line. Dog bites can be dangerous and even minor bites can be terrifying. No one likes it and nothing makes it okay. I'm sorry that happened to you. The fact that the dog's owner is your ex-boyfriend must add insult to injury.

My standard answer when asked by anyone if my dog bites is, "Yes. She's a dog. All dogs bite under the right circumstances." Now, that's not to say she will (little GoofballFruitBat is afraid of her own flippin' shadow, fer cryin' out loud), but she IS and will always be a dog, and it's in a dog's nature to bite, ergo...

KUDOS to you, Samantha. I don't know that I could be this big a person after being bitten.

That said, when you post on a public forum, especially when you post about something controversial, it's is very important that you do it in an accurate and responsible manner because the people and dogs you post about are going to now have to deal with the flack from the inaccuracies as well as from the actual events.

Yes, you were bitten, but the other dog in the 'pack' DID NOT come after you. In fact, the reason that the owner did not see you get bitten is that he was belaying and was at the time telling the second dog to get off the rope. I know this, because I was his climber, and I yelled at the dog who bit you. That is also how I know for a fact that the dog is current on vaccinations- I took her and the other TWO dogs to get them two weeks ago.

And that leads me to another inaccuracy in your tale: after the dog bit, you say we didn't restrain her. No, he didn't immediately tie her up. He couldn't. He was belaying me on my very first trad lead. But he did command her to sit and stay which she immediately did, and we tied her up as soon as I got on the ground.

And when you say that he mentioned that she had only ever bitten men you make it sound as though he was being flippant or clueless, which was not the case. He was embarrassed because, being a chivalrous man, it upset him that the dog had bitten a woman.

He was never flippant or 'clueless' in his behavior toward you, and never defensive. He was concerned and apologetic, even the second time you came back for a superfluous diatribe about it.

And according to what you said at the time, the injury was very minor and the issue was the dog's behavior, so you gave him no reason to believe you felt you were due anything more than an apology and an offer to compensate if anything developed.

The dog will be muzzled in the future. It is the right thing to do. We love dogs and want them to be safe and welcome at the crag, and we try to be ethical climbers and dog owners. Again, I hate that it happened to you and do not in any way think it was okay. I am not making an effort to defend a dog bite. You have a right to air your grievance, and your grievance is justified. But same as dog owners, if want to keep your rights you have to maintain your responsibilities- when you post, post accurately. Don't embellish the story.

was belaying me on my very first trad lead.

Wow, 426. You really pick out the obscure things that make a situation look bad

He did all he could to make a bad situation better, he didn't say it wasn't a bad situation.

Man bites dog. Hardcore to the bone.

A boot to the ribs will do the trick too, and no fur balls in the teeth!